Demons of an Avenger's Past
by Memzak
Summary: When Albus Severus Potter's family is murdered on his 11th birthday, he flees Europe to learn all he can about magic. He must become stronger to avenge his family, as it was all his fault... [AltSchool, Blood, Spirit, Soul Magic, Necromancy, Alchemy, Technology, Technomancy, Fae, Werebeasts, Vampires, Goblins, Dwarves, Animagi, Metamorphmagi, Ancient Runes, Long-term Storyline]
1. The IoaTI

**Title: **Demons of an Avenger's Past

**Descriptors: **Albus Severus Potter, Next Generation, Alternate Schools, Alternate Country, Blood Magic, Soul Magic, Spirit Magic, Necromancy, Alchemy, Technology, Technomancy, Fae Races, Werebeasts, Vampires, Goblins, Dwarves, Demons, Devils, Animagi, Metamorphmagi, Ancient Runes, Long-term storyline.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Harry Potter Universe and anything you might recognise from it. (anything you don't recognise is probably mine) By reading this story, you agree that this disclaimer holds true for its entirety, regardless of if it is not placed on future chapters.

xXxXxXxXxXx

**The Index of all Things Important**  
Consider this chapter as the glossary to the story, it should contain all trivial (and not so trivial) information that is useful to understanding this story.

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Currency**  
There are multiple currencies used across the magical civilisations of this world but the one thing that they have in common is that each currency is based on the entire continent's magical and muggle economy. (as well as how closely intertwined the two worlds are) As such, in places where the two cultures are closer there is a much more accurate muggle to magical currency exchange and places where they are very segregated *cough*Europe*cough* there is not.

All currencies are specially enchanted to be virtually indestructible as well as magically unique, counterfits and conjuration of money is just not possible. There are also enchantments such that if one were to, somehow, melt down their money it would always result in correct value of raw gold/silver depending on the their current pricing. (bronze coins were not included as they weren't valuable enough to warrant such enchanments)

**Magical American Currency**

Aes (Bronze) = 0.01$  
Argent (Silver) = 1.00$  
Aurium (Gold) = 50.00$

1 Silver = 100 Cents  
1 Gold = 50 Silver = 50 000 Cents

**Magical European Currency**

Knut (Bronze) = 0.05€  
Sickle (Silver) = 1.00€  
Galleon (Gold) = 20.00€

1 Sickle = 29 Knuts  
1 Galleon = 17 Sickles = 493 Knuts

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Languages**  
All magically unique languages have special symbols that denote when they are being spoken. The following is a complete index of all the languages that may (or may not) be used in this story. At the begining of each chapter, the relevant languages for that chapter will be listed in the key.

**Standard Key and Languages**

**English ( **"Regular Text" **)**  
"This is regular English being spoken by a character in the story. This may also be used for other languages being spoken as heard by English speaking characters. This is how French would look like when being heard by an English Character: _Parlez-vous Français_? Notice how only the foreign words are italic within the regular quotation marks."

**Foreign Languages ( **_"Italic Text" _**)**  
_"Bonjour! Quoi de neuf? Comment t'appelles-tu? Je m'appelle Fleur. J'aime le français. Je viens de France. La France est un pays merveilleux. Bonne nuit et fais de beaux rêves!"_

**Thoughts ( **_'Italic Text' _**)**  
_'These are thoughts being thought by a character in the story. Thoughts are not based on any language and are thus indicated by single quotation marks. There are no language barriers with thoughts. As such, there is no need to distinguish the language being thought in by whichever character is doing the thinking.'_

**Verbal Magical Incantations (** _""Italic Text"" _**)**  
_""Magical Incantations that are spoken out loud in any regular language appears in quadruple quotation marks to indicate a spell actually being attempted instead of just being spoken about. Other magically unique languages used in spells will appear as follows.""_  
_""Incendio"" _(Mage Latin Fire Spell)  
_"__§Insscendio§" _(Parseltongue Empowered Fire Spell)  
_"╟Firea╢"_ (Demon-based Fire Spell)

**Non-Verbal Magical Incantations ( **_'"Italic Text"' _**)**  
_'"Magical Incantations that are not spoken out loud but instead tought by the character using said spell appear within triple quotation marks to indicate a spell actually being attempted instead of just being thought about. Other magically unique languages can be thought in as the user is specifically thinking in a language for the incantation, instead of language-less regular thoughts."'_  
_'"Glacius"' _(Mage Latin Ice Spell)  
_'≈Gklackiuk≈'_ (Marimtongue Empowered Ice Spell)  
_'╞Icespell╡' _(Devil-based Ice Spell)

**Elemental Key and Languages**

**Parseltongue ( **_§Italic Text§ _**)**  
_§Parseltongue is the language of fire. It is spoken by all reptiles, magical creatures relating to fire and Parselmouths. It is known for it's hissing-like words and elongated 's' sounds. In order to speak to a magical fire-related creature in Parseltongue, one must reach a certain stage of magical maturity in order for the language to be mastered. One must also inject some magic into their words whilst speaking in order to be fully understood. Parseltongue is magically hereditary.§_

**Saxumtongue ( **_≡Italic Text≡_ **)  
**_≡Saxumtongue is the language of earth. It is spoken by all mammals, magical creatures relating to earth and Saxumouths. It is understood by humans and sounds like a strange dialect of whatever languages they understand. People who speak Saxumtongue are often mistook as being a Beastspeaker due to the wide variety of animals they can speak to. In order to speak to magical earth-related creatures, similar conditions as those required by Parselmouths to speak to fire-related creatures must be met. Saxumtongue is magically hereditary.≡_

**Marimtongue ( **_≈Italic Text≈_ **)  
**_≈Marimtongue is the language of water. It is spoken by all fish, amphibians, magical creatures relating to water and Marimouths. It is known for it's inability to pronounce 's' sounds and substituting them with 'ck' sounds as well as how violent is sounds above water. In order to speak to magical water-related creatures, similar conditions as those required by Parselmouths to speak to fire-related creatures must be met. Animals that are both mammals and live permanently in the water, such as dolphins and whales, can speak both Saxumtongue and Marimtongue. Marimtongue is magically hereditary.≈_

**Pervaerotongue ( **_φ__Italic Text__φ _**)**  
_φ__Pervaerotongue is the language of air. It is spoken by all birds, magical creatures relating to air and Pervaeromouths. It is known for its many breathy words and sounds like the person speaking it is either constantly sighing or chittering like a bird. In order to speak to magical air-related creatures, similar conditions as those required by Parselmouths to speak to fire-related creatures must be met. Animals that are both creatures of both fire and air, such as dragons, can speak both Parseltongue and Pervaerotongue. __Pervaerotongue is magically hereditary.__φ_

**The Natural Language ( **_Ω__Italic Text__Ω _**)**  
_Ω__The natural language, also known as Naturatongue is the omega language spoken by all creatures magical or not. People who speak the natural language are known as Beastspeakers and are well-known for their ability to speak to virtually anything alive. To humans it sounds like a long forgotten dialect of their home language, to digital recordings it appears to be nothing but static until played through a speaker - at which point humans hear what they'd usually hear. It is fabled that Beastspeakers can even communicate, at a basic level, with plants and insects. The natural language is not magically hereditary but rather comes into being when all of the elemental languages are inherited by a single person, or by random magical chance. Descendents of a Beaspeaker might inherit one or two of the elemental languages from their ancestor.__Ω_

**Racial Key and Languages**

**The Goblin Language ( **_£Italic Text_**)  
**_£The goblin language is NOT called Gobbledigook, and is actually just known as 'The Goblin Language' by both those that speak it and those that don't. It is a very guttural and harsh sounding language to those that don't speak it. It is inherently spoken by all goblins and can be learnt, much like any other language, by other races. Gobbledigook is, in fact, a word invented by prejudiced Europeans due to how the Goblin Language sounds like nothing more than gibberish to them.£_

**Dwarvish ( **_ε__Italic Text__ε_**)**  
_ε__Dwarvish is spoken by all magical dwarves and understood, to some extent, by non-magical dwarves too. It is a harsh sounding language with emphasis placed on vowels that are more voiced than in other languages. It is inherently spoken by all magical dwarves, much like the Goblin Language, but this inherent ability is magically passed down and thus non-magical born dwarves are usually not able to understand much of it. It can be learnt, much like any other language, by other races. Despite the complete different alphabet and phoneme set, it is remarkably similar to the Goblin Language.__ε_

**Infernal ( **_╞Italic Text╡_**)  
**_╞Infernal is spoken devils and their kin. It is a consonant filled language that sounds unnatural to all natural creatures that hear it. It's a very structured language that has an immensely complicated script. Contracts written in Infernal are both permanent and deadly and should be avoided at all costs. Rudimentary cominication between those who speak Infernal and those who speak Abyssal is possible, but doesn't usually occur. Infernal is a language that can be learnt by any other race, but always feels calculatedly unnatural and cannot be used for more than two or three consecutive words without causing damage to the person using it. It also physically requires magic to be spoken due to its unnatural nature.╡_

**Abyssal ( **_╟Italic Text╢ _**)  
**_╟Abyssal is spoken by demons and their kin. It is a vowel filled language that sounds unnatural to all natural creatures that hear it. It is a primitive language that has no need to expressing more than basic concepts and has a very violent, angular script. Rudimentary cominication between those who speak Abyssal and those who speak Infernal is possible,but doesn't usually occur. Abyssal is a language that can be learnt by any other race, but always feels violently unnatural and cannot be used for more than two or three consecutive words without causing damage to the person using it. It also physically requires magic to be spoken due to its unnatural nature.╢_

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Author's Note: **I'll add more to this Index of all Things Important as more of the story is written. Things on this page are not always final and not 100% complete, you'll have to read the story to get all the details on things that weren't included on this page. :P


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: **Happy Birthday to Me

**Key: **"Speech", _'Thoughts'_, _""Magical Incantations""_

**Author's Note: **The main idea for this story is to move away from standard canon and explore new ideas and how they could be incorporated into the Harry Potter Universe. Assume everything that happened before this was (unless later stated otherwise) the same as canon Harry Potter. I'll try to be unique with most of my ideas, but given how many fanfictions there are out there, I'll probably be stepping on some toes - for this I apologise.

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Monday -=- October 31st - 06:00 -=- Potters' Cottage**

A pair of brilliant green eyes snapped open as he awoke from his slumber. Today was an interesting day for his family. On one hand, it was the day he lost his grandparents to some sociopath relic of the past, but on the other hand it was his eleventh birthday. The day he could officially enter the wizarding world. Naturally, he did what he always did on birthdays and ignored the past in favour of celebrating the present.

It was only years of experience that saved him from from untold horrors being wreaked upon him as he jumped out of bed and rolled across the floor to safety. Something splattered against his bed with a sickening sound. It was then that the dark-eyed demon spoke.

"Happy Birthday my little brother!"

He warily stepped out of the shadows whilst eyeing brother. The last two months had been the most peaceful prank-free months he'd ever had. He was slightly annoyed at being awoken in such a manner, but was ultimately used to such things when dealing with his brother. _'He just couldn't wait, could he? The sun isn't even up yet.'_

"Bloody hell, James, aren't you meant to be at Hogwarts?"

To this he responded by firing off a jinx at his younger brother. It was seemed unfair how wand laws suddenly tipped the balance to the older brother's favour. The younger one's legs snapped together and it was by sheer luck that he managed not to fall over. This was quickly remedied by James tackling him to the ground, turning them into a mass of flailing limbs. _'Well at least I'll be able to get a wand soon, that should even the playing field a little.'_ It was then that the true equaliser appeared. Both boys suddenly found themselves floating mid-air, unable to move.

"Now, James. Is that any way to treat his brother on his birthday?"

Harry Potter stood in the doorway with his wand, as well as a lone eyebrow, raised. He was the husband of Ginny Potter, proud father of three children and head of the Auror Office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE). He was also once known as the Boy-Who-Lived, a title given for defeating Voldemort as a baby and then finalising his victory in adulthood. The only thing the remained to show of it was a barely visible almost gold-pigmented lightning bolt scar.

"Of course it is!" was the only reply my brother could come up with.

In response to such cheek, Harry turned around and started walking back down the stairs with two brothers floating in tow. As they reached the bottom they were released which resulted in one of them landing face-first on the floor. Good reflexes weren't only useful for avoiding pranks. Standing around a cake was the rest of the Potter family. On the left was red-haired freckled matriarch of the Potter household, Ginny Potter. She might have had a kindly looking face at the moment, but could be extremely fierce when angered. Next to her was the youngest of the Potter family, Lily Potter. Named after their grandmother, she was almost identical in appearance except for her light chocolate colored eyes.

"Happy Birthday!" they exclaimed as the birthday boy saw them gathered around the cake.

Albus Severus Potter was celebrating his eleventh birthday that day, the day he officially became a part of the wizarding world. While all the Potter children were very talented, Albus seemed to have inherited more than just his name from the old headmasters of Hogwarts, according to his parents. It seemed like was constantly doing accidental magic, most of the time with enough intent to be something almost useful. Using sugar that was floating in circles around your tea was easier, right? This started much earlier than other children and was still occurring with semi-regularity. The fact that he wasn't even a year away from Hogwarts made it even more curious.

His green eyes twinkled faintly as he took in his loving family surrounding a massive birthday cake, filling him with enough emotion to cause something that usually made his parents chuckle. He only faintly heard Lily questioning his mother, "How come he gets twinkly eyes?", as he moved to blow out the candles. He was always the quiet Potter child and thus surprised his family when he yelped out loud as he ran towards a stack of presents that had just appeared. While they initially thought it was because of sheer quantity of presents, the real reason for this was revealed as they saw his behind and noticed a large red and orange stain on his clothes. It even seemed to be moving in a way reminiscent of flames.

As Harry cast a silent finite to get rid of it, he called out, "Don't open any of them yet. Rather wait for your party today so that you can properly thank everyone."

Ginny took the opportunity to whack James on the back of the head for pranking his brother twice, already, on his birthday. They had to call in quite a few favours in order to get him out of school for the day and the only thing he seems to care about since getting back has been pranking his brother. He really was incorrigible.

"It wasn't even me this time." he mumbled to himself as his brother came running back to hug his parents.

As serious as Albus could be at times, he was still an eleven year old after all.

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Monday -=- October 31st - 17:00 -=- Potters' Cottage**

The birthday party was a great success among the most of the children even some adults had a great time. Not many wizards lived the semi-muggle lifestyle that the Potters enjoyed and were intrigued by the television as well as all the games they had on the system. An electronic dance-off tournament was quickly set up and came down to crazy Uncle George competing against Teddy. Teddy eventually won by cycling his hair through the most neon colours imaginable in order to distract George at the most inopportune moments.

The only response George had to his loss was to turn both their faces neon blue as he congratulated Teddy. He might not be a metamorphagus, but was still armed to the teeth with his prank products.

After most of the guests had left, Albus walked up to his father and sat on the armrest of the chair he was currently occupying. He had managed to get the day off at work and Albus was capitalising on spending all his free time with his father that day.

"I have a little something for you, Al" he said after a moment. He proceed to take out a small envelope letter with the Hogwarts emblem sealing it. Albus's eyes widened as he reverently opened the letter.

_**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy**_

_Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall_

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl by no later than July 31st._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

"How did you get it so early?" Albus asked after flipping through the list of supplies needed. Hogwarts had only just started the new year less than two months ago.

"I asked for it to be quickly written when I picked up James, Professor McGonagall was happy to do so if it meant a couple of days free of pranks." Harry replied, still thinking of her as a professor even though he had graduated almost two decades ago.

"When can we go to Diagon Alley?"

"Tomorrow, why don't you go open your last two presents?" Harry responded as the last of the guests apparated away and two presents suddenly appeared on the nearby couch. Ginny was keeping James and Lily distracted in the kitchen whilst cleaning up so that Albus and Harry could spend some quality time together. Albus inherited not only his father's looks, but some of his shyness too and always spoke the most when in his father's presence. Out of all the Potter children, it seemed like Albus was the closest to Harry.

Albus hopped out of his makeshift seat and walked over to the last two presents that weren't even there a moment before. He grabbed a small looking rectangular box and carefully opened it - he was never one for tearing his present's wrapping paper apart like his brother. What he found was looked like a leather bangle that was about two inches wide. Knowing that magical things were often more than they appeared, he put the bangle on.

The black leather expanded across his forearm and turned into a series of crisscrossing straps before tingling a little bit and disappearing. It was then that he noticed there was also a small note on on the inside of the box. He took it out and read:

_Voucher for: 1 Wand_

Confused, he looked up to find his father standing right next to him. As he was about to ask, his father knowingly interrupted;

"What you have there is the newest auror-standard wand-holster. It should keep your wand invisible and intangible to everyone but yourself and should prevent anyone from disarming you whilst it is still in the holster. Even though it still only feels like you are wearing a tight bangle, the entire thing is actually there. Just remove what you feel if you want to take it off. This," he pointed at the small note in the box, "should allow you to get a free wand from any Ollivanders shop in Europe. You should be able to store that voucher in the holster until then."

As Harry was speaking Albus was touching his right forearm in wonder. It was true, all he could feel was a skintight leather bangle sitting just below his wrist. As his father finished speaking he looked up and asked, "Does this mean we can go to Diagon Alley tomorrow?"

Harry's nodded as Albus placed the voucher against his wrist and watched it disappear.

"How do you get it back?" he asked.

"All you need to do is flick your wrist outwards with the intent of retrieving your wand and it should come shooting out."

Albus looked towards the second present with some trepidation. It looked like it was a wrapped up towel and was beginning to dread another Ginny-knitted sweater when he noticed it was from Harry.

"You got me two presents?"

"No, the first was from your mother," he replied with a wink. Such a sneaky way to get away with two presents, but Albus wasn't complaining. He knew that the family was actually incredibly wealthy and had seen the Potter Ancestral Manor once before. Unfortunately, his father avoided fame and excessive wealth like a house-elf avoids clothes and it was due to this that family members had to adhere to the 'one present per person' law. Well that, and that Ginny would curse him into next week if he raised his kids to be as spoiled as Draco was in their early Hogwarts days.

As he finished unwrapping the present found that it appeared to be nothing _'Well that was strange,' _he thought.

He reached into the cocoon of wrapping paper and felt an almost liquid-like fabric. As he took it out, he noticed that only one side of it was visible. _'There's no way this is what I think it is_.' he wondered in disbelief.

He put it on and looked up to find his reflection wasn't visible on any surface he was meant to have a reflection on. He also noticed that it was almost completely translucent when worn too. "You got me an invisibility cloak?!" he squeaked loudly before remembering his brothers were only two rooms down in the kitchen. Hopefully they didn't hear anything.

"Well could you imagine what James would do if I gave it to him?" Harry joked.

Albus took the cloak off and noticed that the visible side was opaque again and the invisible side seemed to be somewhere in between ink-black and invisible, unlike what what it was before. At the same time Harry noticed that, from his perspective, the invisible side maintained its invisibility after being taken off._ 'Weird, I guess it bonds to be somewhat visible to whoever legally owns it and since my father was dead when I received it was always mine...'_

"Now Albus, there's something I must tell you about this cloak, but only if you promise to not use it for too much mischief."

"I promise I won't use for anything too mischievous." he replied with, his eyes twinkling once more as he thought about the semantics of what his father said. He might not be the prankster of the family, but he was still acutely aware of any loopholes he could exploit when given a new set of rules.

"Good. I've had this cloak checked by the unspeakables and they found that it was made almost entirely out of thestral hairs. What this means is that it'll never loose its invisibility." _'...among other things.' _he thought.

"I want you to promise you'll pass this on to your son like my father did to me." he stated, thinking on how all the hallows seem to have been made from thestral parts and how that's probably how the entire myth started. It made sense when one thinks about how the brothers must have 'seen death' in order to make the legendary items. Thinking about it, he realised how many thestrals, usually almost hairless, must have been used to gather enough hairs for an entire cloak. He started chuckling at the image of a Peverell brother chasing down flocks of thestrals in order to gather hairs.

All this went unnoticed by Albus who was in complete awe after his father had finished speaking. Demiguise invisibility cloaks were already really rare, but the one in his hands took rarity onto a whole new level. These last two presents were probably the best presents he'd received in his entire life thus far.

After his shock wore off he couldn't help but think, _'Looks like the playing field has just been tipped in my favour, older brother...'_

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Monday -=- October 31st - 22:22 -=- Potters' Cottage**

A loud noised caused Albus to jolt out of bed and roll into a crouch. He looked around his room, searching for who he assumed was the cause, automatically assuming it was James to blame.

_'Strange, he's not here. He never pranks Lily at night.'_

Bright lights flashing outside his window accompanied with crackling noises made Albus instantly wary. A large exploding sound decided it for him and he walked towards the door and pushed it open. Nothing. Suddenly wary again he silently crept down the stairs - avoiding the creaky step that usually alerted him to incoming pranks. About halfway down he hears an earsplitting scream. It was only after a moment that he recognized the voice of the scream.

_'Lily!'_

Frantically, he started running down the stairs only to be pushed down to the side by both his parents. Before they moved out of his hearing range Harry whispered, "Stay hidden Albus, stay hidden," just before throwing his new invisibility cloak over.

He hears some shouting and his blood runs cold as Lily's scream is suddenly silenced. His dread triples when he hears a shriek that could only be his mother before she the shouting resumed. Unable to take it anymore, he ran down the stairs and was greeted by a horrific scene.

The room was completely trashed, furniture almost completely shredded and there were large holes visible in the walls. The door to James's room looked like the epicentre of some massive explosion with large wodden splinters littering the hallway. Filling nearly every breach in the outer walls were dozens of wizards, for that's the only thing they could be, dressed in dark robes and hoods that completely obscured their faces. Harry and Ginny were firing curse after curse at the invaders, fighting like Albus had never seen before.

Just after a wizard in dark robes exploded into a shower of gore, courtesy of Ginny, the true horror of the situation was revealed. Lying in the centre of the room was the still form of Lily Potter. She wasn't breathing.

Unable to see anything other than his sister, Albus ran forward, cloak flying off of his head, only to be stopped by Harry who turned from the fighting to push him back with such force that he probably bruised his buttocks as he fell. It was this slight distraction that had cost the fight and Harry and Ginny suddenly found themselves completely unarmed.

Albus saw confusion, realisation and finally determination on settle Harry's face and had less than a second to process what happened before what happened next. He looked and nodded at Ginny, grabbing her hand as both stepped in front of his prone form to be struck be at least a dozen green spells each. Both forms fell limply, staring up with glassy eyes.

Dead.

Albus's world collapsed around him as he stared at his two unmoving parents. He felt true despair as he crawled towards them, his cloak pooling around his feet. Time seemed to stop around him, nothing mattered to him anymore. He didn't even care about living, he wanted to join is parents, he just wanted them back. He was so deep in emotional turmoil that he didn't feel any pain as two unique scars appeared just below each collarbone.

After what seemed like an eternity, he looked up to face his parents' killers. They seemed to be shocked by their victory, like they didn't ever suspect that they would succeed and live to tell the tale. Most of them didn't even care about the small child crying over the corpses of hise parents. Eventually one stepped forward and looked the boy in the eye, looking at him in disgust.

_""Avada Kedavra""_

It was then that Albus knew pain. Pain of the body, pain of the mind and pain of the very soul. It felt like his very essence was being torn apart and stuffed with nails, piece by piece.

To the shock of everyone present, when the curse collided with the small child and he started screaming. He arched his back as his left side started bleeding, blood drenching his pajamas. After exactly two seconds, the bleeding stopped and all blood suddenly glowed killing-curse green, radiating outwards from the now collapsed boy with the force of a hurricane.

No shield could stop it, no person could outrun it and no object to defend from it. Everyone left in the Potters' Cottage died as Godric's Hollow, thirty-five years later, experienced the killing-curse rebounded once more

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Monday -=- October 31st - 22:32 -=- Potters' Cottage Ruins**

Albus awoke with a start. He was in pain, but it was not unbearable. It was the type pain one has after exercising for an entire day without any rests. What was strange was that this pain seemed to be present in his mind too, as if he had been over-thinking something for the last week straight.

As he opened his eyes, his stomach dropped. Everything he had thought was just a nightmare was real. It seemed like he was in his own personal hell. Everything in sight was scorched or shattered and without the opposite wall supporting the house, the entire top floor collapsed leaving him trapped within a small triangular pocket of space near the staircase. Had he thought about it, he would have been glad that he couldn't see his sister as her body was probably scorched beyond recognition.

At that moment that his adrenal gland finally kicked in and flooded his body with adrenalin. It was fight or flight and subconsciously, he must have known that if he stuck around he would be driven insane. He reached for his father's hand and grabbed the Potter Family Ring. The fact that it slid off his finger and onto his own was yet another example of proof that they were really gone. As soon as it was placed upon his index finger it resized to be a snug fit and glowed brightly in acceptance.

Albus then pressed upon the Potter crest and whispered, "Potter Manor."

He screamed out as his magic started up again in order to portkey him to the ancestral manor foyer. His last thoughts were, _'It looks like it wasn't just my muscles that feel like they're overworked,'_ before he passed out on the manor's floor.

As of November 1st 2016, Albus Severus Potter was an orphan

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Friday -=- November 3th - 14:15 -=- Potter Ancestral Manor Foyer**

A small boy rolled over on the ground and attempted to get up. Attempted because he was halfway up before he realised what had happened and collapsed onto his back. The fleshy sound of his back hitting the floor reverberated throughout the large foyer.

"Why?" was all he could say before he burst into tears, curling up into the fetal position as he cried everything away.

It was hours before his tears ran dry and he finally realised that there was nobody there to help him, nobody to sooth his paints, nobody to allay his fears and nobody to look after him.

He was all alone and he didn't even have a wand, some 'new wizard' he was. He made his way over to the informal sitting room and turned the on the Wizarding Wireless, seeing as they hadn't set up any new utilities from the last couple of decades at the manor.

What he heard chilled him to the bone. A new group of dark wizards have swept across Europe like a plague, murdering thousands over the last few days. On Halloween, any family related to the fall of a recent dark lord were targeted and eliminated.

What was more shocking was that many of them were known to Albus. The Longbottoms, the Scamanders and even many of the Weasley branches were all families who had children that he was friends with and now all of them are gone. What's worse was that most of his friends were at home with their parents due to his stupid little birthday party. Nearly everyone had decided to stay with their parents for the night, like James, in order to get a restful night of sleep before heading back to Hogwarts.

Albus wanted to cry, but his eyes remained defiantly dry. Everything was his fault, even his parents died due to his idiotic distraction that came at the wrong time. It was at that moment that something hardened in little Albus and one thought screamed above all others.

_'It is up to me to make it right as it was my fault.'_

This led to the thought that would later embed itself into the core of his psyche. The thought that gave him the determination and drive to do what needed to be done.

_'It is up to me to become the avenger.'_


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: **From Rags to Riches

**Key: **"Speech", _'Thoughts'_, _""Magical Incantations""_

**Author's Note: **This chapter should be the last full chapter of exposition, next chapter we should be starting at Albus's new school. I know it has seemed like a bit much so far, but there were just a lot of things that needed to be set up in order for it to make sense in later chapters.

This will also probably be the last chapter for a while, as I am putting this story on a temporary hiatus until I gain some skill as a writer (through other stories). The reason for this being that I really want this story to get told well and it is going to be very tough to do so if I do not have the skills required.

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Monday -=- November 6th - 28:31 -=- Flight BAW77D**

Albus was huddling up against Chester to conserve heat as he felt the plane starting its final descent. He was tired, cold and hungry but knew he still had to find somewhere safe before he could truly rest. The fact that he had escaped England and was now circling around New York was something he should be proud of but all he could think about was how he hoped his fingers hadn't frozen solid.

Chester was a great black dog with ample fluff to stay warm. It was for this reason alone that Albus had chosen him as his newest temporary friend when he had realised that the temperature in the cargo bay would continue to decrease. He had also made sure to share some of his packed food with him in thanks for the company.

As he was rubbing Chester's side, to get some warmth back into his fingers, he thought about how lucky he was to have gotten as far as he had. He had spent the weekend preparing for this trip by scavenging anything of use in Potter Manor. Where he was going, he would be on his own. He wasn't sure if there even were any Potter properties on other continents and without knowing of their existence, much less their name, he was unable to portkey there through his ring. The only place he knew he could find this information in would be Gringotts and he knew that there was no chance he would be able find his way to them without being spotted.

He hoped there was a branch in New York so that he could get more by way of finances. All he had managed to find at Potter Manor was the equivalent of one galleon, ten sickles and five knuts in spare change. He was lucky that the money pouch he found was already enchanted with space-expanding and featherlight charms otherwise he'd be stuck carrying kilograms of bronze coins. He absent-mindedly rubbed his chest as he thought about what else he had found in Potter Manor.

After he had listened to the radio for long enough to make him feel sick, apparently his was not the only familiy murdered upon that fateful night, he had ran to the master bathroom to cleanse himself of the taint he had felt. He had been certain that he could still feel his parent's death on his hands and had scrubbed himself until his skin was raw. He had then bathed in something more like a small pool than a bathtub and had almost felt relaxed. He had reasoned that there must have been muscle relaxant mixed with calming draught in the soap he had chosen.

After he had gotten out he had gone from feeling almost completely relaxed to as tense as a fully drawn bow when he saw himself in the mirror. Just underneath each collarbone, he had been marked by two very unique scars - both had been quite faded and had seemed to be much older than the few days they were.

On his left side he was marked by the infamous lightningbolt and the right side he was marked by an upwards arrow.

He had needed to sit down after he had realised that the one on his left had matched, almost exactly, the one that had once marked his father when he had been a child. It was then that he had decided he had to leave the country, if not the continent, since the only way he would be able to stay alive would be if nobody kew that he had lived in the first place.

Albus was brought out of his musings as the plane's wheels made contact with the tarmac and decided that it was time to double check everything he had - him leaving something like an invisibility cloak behind for muggles to find was just asking for trouble. He quickly threw his blanket and change of clothes into his backpack as he checked the time on his watch.

_'Hmm, I'll probably need a new watch, this one doesn't seem to understand time changes.'_

Being a magical-based watch, it had experienced twenty-eight hours since its last midnight which, given how long Albus has been awake for, was a pretty accurate representation of his day. He made sure to check is right forearm, for the fifth time, just to make sure his holster was still there. It contained a voucher for an Ollivander wand and if he lost it, he knew he wouldn't have enough money to get one. It was just really disconcerting that he couldn't see or feel it except for a slight pressure just below his wrist.

"Goodbye Chester, enjoy New York," he said as he headed towards the cargo bay doors. He was wearing the most normal muggle clothes he could find, so that he could blend in with the muggle side of the airport. Most large airports had magiports attached, hidden away with notice-me-not charms, and he didn't want to get seen by any wizards if he could help it. As the cargo bay doors opened he followed the largest piece of luggage down, hoping nobody would notice the extra weight. He hoped he'd be able to get past all the airport security for a second time.

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Tuesday -=- November 7th - 08:09 -=- JFK Airport, New York**

Albus stared at the magiport help center and was contemplating whether getting seen by definite wizards was worth it. He had not been able to find any information about anything magical and had been forced to hide away and sleep in the airport.

He had tried everything short of directly crossing over into the magiport knowing that if he did they would probably ask for his identity and whether he had entered the country legally. This was something that he knew he wouldn't be able to lie he way out of. The magiport help center employee, however, looked like she could be convinced by a 'lost kid sob story'. Channeling as much repressed emotion as he could into being a frightened little boy he took off his cloak and walked up to the help center.

"E-e-excuse me, but I can't find my parents. They said they'ed just be going to the bank to get some money but haven't returned yet." he said, hoping that she wouldn't see through the lie.

The kindly looking lady had a petite frame and was dressed in a dark blue uniform. She had a round face with a sharp nose that contrasted her narrow brown eyes. She looked down into two very frightened looking green eyes and took immediate pity on the boy.

"Don't worry young man, I'm sure they'll be back soon. Would you like to wait here with me for them?" she replied, wondering why anybody would leave their child all alone in such a busy magiport.

"I w-was hoping that you could take me to them, they said they would be back soon unless something important happened. Can you please take me there?" he pleaded.

"I don't think so, I'm not allowed to take a minor without parental permission. I could get the the airport security to make an announcement if you'd like? What is your name?" she asked, with an apologetic look on her face. At the mention of a name Albus momentarily froze, he couldn't let his name get out and he needed to get to the neutral territory of a bank.

"No! Please, can't you just take me to Gringlegotts?", purposefully fudging the name, "It won't take two seconds, I just want to get back to my parents!" he all but screeched with tears building in his eyes. _'If I get caught they'll send me back and I'll die, I can't die! Not now!'_

"Gringotts?! You mean they apparated directly out of the magiport leaving their child behind?" the lady said, beginning to worry. She had heard that European magicals were backwards, but this was ridiculous! She had thought they had simply went to small human-run bank that was built directly into the magiport. Gringotts was miles away, in New York's magical commerce square.

Albus was beginning to worry that he had taken it too far and made too much of a scene when the dark-eyed grabbed a hold of his hands and apparated him directly into the goblin bank. As soon as he landed she worriedly looked at him and said, "Please keep it a secret how you got here, good luck," before she apparated away with a crack. She knew what she had just done wasn't quite legal, but as long as her boss didn't find out she'd be okay. She just had to help the poor little boy, what else could she have done?

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Tuesday -=- November 7th - 08:27 -=- Gringotts, New York Branch**

Albus was about to step out of the magical arrival zone when to two goblin spears crossed in front of him. An small red light above the doorway flashed as the wards worked their way back over the apparition zone. Once the light turned green the spears were withdrawn and Albus was free to move. He stepped out and was greeted with a Gringotts that was quite different from what he was used to.

This branch of Gringotts had a more modern design than it's olympian British counterpart. There was no milling about of tellers counting coins or gems and no desks were raised to imposing heights. Albus had just left one of three entrances that were all joining up into one long hallway. Opposite from the many apparatition, portkey and other instantaneous magical transport zones were many odd articles of furniture from a medieval floo fireplace to a large mirror that rippled like water. Right down the middle came the start of the hallway that led directly off of the main entrance.

As Albus walked down the stone hallway, he found they they opened up into a large, very busy, room. The room was divided up into many clear sections, each with many desks manned, by Goblins with numerous small dividers inbetween. None of them seemed to be doing anything like the counting of gems he saw in London. All of them had a strange machine in front of them with books and papers spread across the table along with a couple pens automatically writing things down and nearly all of them seemed to be doing business with a customer of some sort.

Each section was denoted by being embed in one of the walls and have large letters carved into the wall itself to show what business they dealt with. Directly opposite the direction of the main entrance didn't have any section embed into the wall but instead was painted blank and had many flashing numbers and letters that were colored red, yellow and green. There were at least fifty humans, goblins, dwarves and races he couldn't even identify standing near the wall holding seemingly one-sided conversations at the top of their voices whilst working some strange floating machines.

Worrying that he wouldn't be able to find a goblin teller to work with he walked up to the International Commerce section and started to look for a free desk. What was truly bizarre was that he couldn't get an accurate count on the number of desks in that section and while while nearly all of them seemed to be taken, as soon as he thought about finding one his eyes would spot one that was free.

Albus walked up to a free desk and noticed that as soon as he passed the divider between desks all the sounds outside of them became muffled and muted. Before he could comment on this the Goblin looked up. He had a long scar down the left side of his face and had one ear that looked like it had a small piece bitten out of it. This fierceness was counterbalanced by the fact he was wearing a full suit and had a small golden name-tag, Raktooth, on his desk.

"Would you like this meeting to be made private?" he asked in a bored tone and slightly annoyed tone that implied he was simply following some sort of protocol.

"Um, yes please," Albus replied, thinking this goblin seemed a lot less unfriendly than those back in England. The goblin pulled a lever and everything that was beyond the small dividers of his office were suddenly replaced by a bland stone hallway. He was about to ask about what had just happened but the goblin, not wanting to waste any time, cut him off.

"What business do you have today?" he asked, getting straight to the point as any decent goblin would - time was gold after all.

"I would like to get some money from my vault, but my vault is currently in England?" he asked more than stated, hoping he wasn't about to be laughed at.

"Any currency located in any Gringotts vault can be converted directly without having to move the vault itself, for a small fee. Do you have your key?" said the goblin.

"No, I don't... but I, um, can you keep a secret?" he asked sounding a lot more like the child he was than the independent business partner he was aiming to be.

"A confidentiality agreement?" asked Raktooth, now paying full attention to the customer he was working with. There was gold to be had in secrets after all. At the young human's nod he continued, "Anything said in this room is now fully confidential unless said information can be seen as a potential threat to the goblin nation. You may request a magically binding contract if you so choose."

"Yes, please." he said, almost earning a raised eyebrow from the now very curious goblin.

"Please sign your name here," he requested as he handed over a sheet of paper and crimson pen to the young boy. Albus briefly read through some of it, just to be sure, but found it was all in legal jargon that didn't make sense to him anyway. He would just have to trust it said what he had been promised. He signed off his name and was shocked to see it being written in what looked like blood.

Raktooth noted the boy's shock as he took back the contract, "It uses your own blood to ensure it is magically binding. It simply siphons some from your main arteries, such that it doesn't cause any discomfort. If it were to be taken from the back of your hand, for example, you would probably feel something more like a small sting." He then proceeded to sign his own name off with the same pen, taking note of the name of his client. Just then the contract glowed brightly and disappeared and he nodded in the direction of the boy by the name of Albus.

"I do not have the key and only have the family ring as my entire family was recently murdered." he started, hoping that it would be enough to grant him access to at least some of his family's gold.

"May I see the ring?" asked Raktooth, ignoring the talk of murder - what non-goblins did to themselves was none of his concern. Albus took off his gloves and held up his right hand. The goblin scrutinized it for a moment and then stated, "It is genuine and the magic has accepted you. We now have two options. The first is that we can request for an immediate reading of any wills with you as a benefactor, legally affirming that you are indeed the next heir to your house. This option will require us to contact all others mentioned in said wills in order for them to be present during the reading."

Raktooth paused and looked up at his client, deciding that his client would favour the second option and signing the required forms to reserve the required facilities. "The second option would be to consent to a rudimentary blood ritual for a bloodline and magical acceptance test. These will be used to determine to which house you are a potential heir and whether said house's magic would accept you as its head. This option is not as popular due to the potential to be given full control of a family's assets if one is accepted as the new head of one's family - overruling any previous wills or inheritance laws."

"Isn't blood magic dark and illegal?" he asked, worried

Raktooth chuckled at the boy's naivety, "While it might be seen as 'dark' in Europe, such magic is perfectly safe and legal in this country. 'Dark' magic is not classified as such in most countries. If you use magic to break a law, you will be prosecuted. If you murdered someone you will be treated in the same way regardless of whether you used a cutting curse to the neck, a heart-stopping medical charm or even the infamous killing curse Avada Kedevra"

Albus shuddered at the imagery of Raktooth's example. Despite his mounting trepidation of requiring a blood ritual, the second option sounded more reasonable given his current situation. He wanted to remain 'dead' in the eyes of Europe and that meant not requesting a reading of the Potter will. The blood ritual, if successful, would give him full control over his inheritance without informing any others of his existence. To others, it would just seem like some distance relative must have surfaced in 'the colonies' and claimed the Potter fortune.

"Can we go through with the ritual, please?" he asked.

He was then lead out of the room by Raktooth and was joined two fearsomely armed goblins. They walked through many bare passages taking what seemed like thousands of turns until they came across a large curved stone door. Raktooth performed some complex movements in front of it and the door pulsed red before slowly opening.

They both entered a large circular room was barren except for a raised bowl underneath a large stalactite in the exact center of the room. Everything seemed to be carved out of a single piece of obsidian that seemed to hold many small red twinkling lights that were slowly drifting about the walls, ceiling and floor. Once the doors were sealed, they couldn't even be told apart from the regular walls. Raktooth led Albus to the center of the room and took out a small obsidian knife that was laying in the the bowl.

"Once I cut your hands, please keep it directly above the bowl and follow my instructions exactly." said Raktooth as he brought the knife to Albus's palm. Albus nodded and Raktooth sliced cleanly across his right hand and backed away quickly as the blood started flowing.

As the blood made contact the with the bowl, the room flared to life. What were once small red twinkles in the wall turned into brightly glowing lights that dripped down the walls, across the floors and directly into the bowl. The glow coming from the bowl started off no more luminous than small candle but was slowly getting brighter eventually reaching the brightness of the midday sun.

Raktooth suddenly commanded, "Press your hand into the center of the bowl!"

With his eyes closed due to the blinding glow, he pressed down his hand and submerged it in more blood than he thought he could possible before making contact with the bottom of the bowl. The entire room flickered and then went out. The only light remaining coming from the large glowing pool of blood almost entirely filling the obsidian bowl.

Raktooth's eyes had widened in shock when the glow had progressed to almost blindingly bright before he had realised that the room would not have been able to take much more and had commanded the boy to initiate the fail-safe shutoff. He walked up to the center of the room and his eyes almost popped right out of their sockets as he saw how full the bowl was. While the blood test was an relatively uncommon procedure, never before had he heard of such a saturated bloodline. This boy must have been a potential heir to something truly ancient for it to almost overload the chamber.

"Please command the bowl to show a list of currently gathered bloodlines." said Raktooth, determined to see how far back it managed to get before he was forced to put a stop to it.

"Um, can I have a list of currently gathered bloodlines?" asked Albus, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious at the almost gawking goblin. A stone tablet appeared on the side of the bowl and Raktooth stepped forward and grabbed it. They would have to go through list slowly, accepting too many bloodlines at once can be dangerous - even more so if they are only distantly related.

Raktooth started speaking slowly, almost as if in awe, "The lights that were gathered in the bowl were converted to small samples of blood from the bloodlines to which you were a potential heir to. The more ancient the line, the more blood that is gathered. I fear what happened is that this facility was unable to cope with a bloodline that must have been truly ancient due to the recursive magics involved. We can arrange for another test to be done in a larger bloodline chamber but it could take weeks to find one large enough. Would you like to proceed with the bloodlines already gathered?" They might have to build an entirely new chamber in order to figure out which ancient bloodline was invloved, given what he had just seen.

"Sure?" he almost asked. Albus was rather confused as to the significance of ancient blood and didn't really care about some obscure long-forgotten ancestors. Perhaps when he was older and he was more mature, but at this point in time he just wanted enough gold to survive and maybe pay for his magical tuition. Wanting to get this whole procedure over and done with he added, "Can I attempt to become the head of all the bloodlines I am a heir to in one go?"

This was probably the worst thing he could have said. Not knowing that his right hand was still a direct link to the chamber, he had issued what could be seen as a command and the chamber could not help but comply. As soon as the words left his mouth, the stalactite above the bowl started pulsing and charging up for a massive magical discharge. With a yelp, Raktooth jumped to the side, backing away as quickly as possible. Raktooth knew what was coming and could only watch in horror as a potential goldmine of a client inadvertently activated the acceptance ritual for every currently collected bloodline.

Albus was already slightly worried about all this blood magic, always having been seen as dark in Europe, and seeing Raktooth yelp and jump away pushed that worry into downright panic. He tried pulling his hand away by found that his family's ring was stuck to the bowl and that he couldn't pull his hand free. It was then that an almost solid beam of magic shot down from the rapidly discharging stalactite and made contact with the pool of glowing blood.

As it made contact with the pool, he was suddenly flooded with magic. The magic flowed directly through him, getting into every nook and cranny whilst attempting to determine whether he was an adequate head for so many bloodlines. So great was the magic involved that it was physically spraying off the bowl, little globules of raw magic leaving scortchmarks where they landed.

Had he been able to see his hand, he would have seen his ring glowing white-hot and his hand burning away to the bone before being rapidly repaired. His body wasn't physically able to channel torrents magic in and out of his hand, being somewhat akin to forcing the entire ocean through a small mountain stream, and he passed out from the pain.

Eventually, the blood level in the bowl started decreasing - the blood from each bloodline that was accepted being absorbed by the ring. Albus was limply hanging on the side of the bowl with his hand still being stuck to the center. It was only once the last of the blood was gone, that the chamber released the ring and he fell to the floor.

Raktooth made his way quickly to the unmoving boy and cast a basic diagnostic spell, the magical equivalent to checking for a pulse. He sighed in relief and levitated him up into the air behind him. If his heart was still beating, all that magic coursing through would have healed away any damage it caused. If anything, he would be healthier than before. He dropped the obsidian knife back into the bowl and picked up the stone tablet before he made his way to the door with his client levitating behind.

He was somewhat amused to find an entire squadron standing ready outside of the door and quickly informed them that he was unharmed and that there was nothing of importance to worry about. He then started merrily humming to himself - goblins never hum - as he walked back to his office.

_'This fool might have accepted all those bloodlines by accident, but now that he's survived he'll probably make us filthy rich. We're all going to be swimming in gold thanks to this, perhaps I'll even get a promotion...'_

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Tuesday -=- November 7th - 18:11 -=- Raktooth's Office**

Albus awoke with a start in a familiar office and felt utterly exhausted, despite having just woken up. He looked around and found Raktooth slowly working his way through a large pile of papers on his left, signing off each one before placing it on his right. As he took stock of the room, he remembered what had happened. He glanced down at his right hand and saw that his Potter family ring had seemed to be replaced by another.

"It has been modified by each bloodline that has accepted you as its new head." Raktooth stated without even looking up from his paperwork.

Albus lifted his hand and inspected the ring. Just about the only thing that remained the same was that the Potter crest was still visible on the front face, albeit much more embellished than before. The crest itself seemed to reflect light in a strange way, like it was made out of something caught halfway between a gem and a metal.

Looking closer he noticed that the ring itself no longer seemed to be made of just gold, it seemed to be made from a rose gold alloy and he had a sneaky suspicion that the reddish hue was not from a mixture of gold and copper. The most interesting change, however, was the number of gems embed all around the ring. Every visible surface that was not covered by the Potter crest had a tiny red gems that tiled all over the surface on of the ring. He looked up to asked a question and noticed that Raktooth had finished whatever paperwork he was working on and was silently observing him.

"Um, well. What happened?" asked Albus.

"You foolishly attempted to accept every bloodline gathered in the pool at once. That you survived, given how many bloodlines were gathered, is unheard of. Each bloodgem condensed in that ring is indicative of a family that you are now head of. Due to the confidentiality agreement, I am now the supervisor of all your accounts." replied Raktooth baring his teeth in a vicious looking smile.

"What does this mean for me?" he asked in wonder, realising just how many gems were embed around the entirity of the ring.

"It means that you are currently one of the most wealthy individual clients we have seen in centuries. The ring can inform you of the details of what that entails."

_'The ring?' _he thought to himself. _'Due to being the official recognized head of this ring, its numerous enchantments are fully accessible to you.'_ a metallic voice replied in his head.

Raktooth took his client's surprise as a cue to explain, "Most head of family rings have enchantments layered upon them to help with the running of a family. Many of the old nobility enchanted rings to contain self updating knowledge on all magical laws that can directly affect the family and its head. Here is the full list of enchantments currently on your ring." He passed Albus a sheet of paper.

_'I guess parchment is a European thing.' _he thought as he took the page. He then attempted to read as much of the list as possible:

_**Client 1611719: Family Ring Enchantments**_  
_Direct Linkage to Family Wards (multiple)_  
_Direct Control of Family Wards (multiple)_  
_Stored Family Wards Control Knowledge (multiple)_  
_Temporary Key(er) to Family Wards (multiple)_  
_Permanent Key(er) to Family Wards (multiple)_  
_Variable Self-Powered Portkey (multiple)_  
_Vocal and Tactile Variable Portkey Activation _  
_Continuous Resizing Enchantment _  
_Selective Invisibilty Enchantment_  
_Selective Intangibility Enchantment_  
_Selective Demidimensional Location Enchantment_  
_Unique Magical Identifier (Verified) (multiple)_  
_Full Comfort Enchantment Suite_  
_Minor Protection Enchantment Suite_  
_Minor Aliumutamentus Protection_  
_Minor Aliumutanimus Protection_  
_Minor Aliumutsanguimus Protection_  
_Stored Magical Law Knowledge (Self-Updating)_  
_Quasiresponsive Mental Dictation Enchantment_  
_Quasiduomentu..._

He stopped reading after that. He thought he understood some of it, but after the Quasirepsowhatsit he realised he actually had no clue what most of it meant. Glancing up at the fearsomely grinning goblin he decided that he would rather research what it all meant himself instead of asking him.

Deciding upon a change of topic he asked, "Can you manage all of my Gringotts accounts until I am a little older? I don't exactly know what it means to be a head of a family aside from being able to have full access to my vaults?"

Raktooth thought it was almost too easy, "I don't believe any individual would be able to manage the entirity of your assets, but I would be willing to become a senior manager of a small team who could do so - for a fee, of course," he said as the fearsome smile returned.

"That sounds okay, my father," his heart clenched, "never taught me what being a head of a family meant, I'm not even sure he even knew himself. As long as there is still some money left by the time I get a job, then I'll be fine." he replied.

Raktooth chuckled at this boy's naivety once again, "You could do nothing but spend thousands for every day of your natural life and your descendants would still have enough to survive for many generations. Would you like a list of your assets?"

Albus shook his head as he saw the goblin's hand move towards an even larger stack of paper than the one on his right. Perhaps on another day he would look over all of it, but he did not want to worry about all that at this point in time. In fact, he was just thinking about what he had to do and realised something rather important. If he were to remain hidden, he'd need a new name.

"Can I see the list of boodlines I was accepted by?" he asked, hoping that his plan would work.

Raktooth was slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be going over the finances but handed over the stone slate that was created by the bloodline chamber. He hadn't gotten around to copying all the information across onto the self-updating charmed sheet of paper, but he was sure he still had another day or so before the conjuration disappeared.

Albus looked over the list and was shocked by the first couple of names. Potter was expected but Black, Longbottom, Bones and others were a complete shock to him, although it really shouldn't have been. He was again reminded of how it wasn't just his family that were no longer alive.

The further he looked down the list, the less familiar they became and the more interesting they seemed. After seeing the name Prince followed by the name King he briefly thought about how his ancestors might have been a royal of some sort, but then again that would mean that some of them must have been in charge of a pottery business too and he did not want to even think about what could have earned the Longbottoms their name.

It was during these fanciful musings that Albus spotted a name that he immediately felt a connection to - Vindexi. It probably helped that it sounded completely wicked in the eleven year old's mind. Little did he know how accurate that name would later become. Aside from the late headmaster of Hogwarts, he had never heard of another Albus so he thought he probably needed to change his first name too.

It was decided, from that moment on he would be known as Alex Vindexi. It also had the added bonus of him keeping his nickname, Al.

"Since I am head of all these families, can I legally change my name and documentation? Could we create new documentation what I currently have is somehow lost?" he asked.

"As a head to multiple families, you may do what you please with regards to the legal names of those within your family. This includes yourself, what name did you have in mind and do I have permission to use your new name henceforth for all documents pertaining to your finances?" he replied, knowing that a name has much more power than a client number when dealing with wealth of that amount.

"Yes, and I would like to be known as Alex Vindexi." he responded and as he finished speaking his ring pulsed and the Potter crest shrunk down into a small gem whilst another gem expanded into a new crest that displayed on the face of his ring.

"With regards to documentation," the goblin started whilst correctly guessing his client's true intentions, "we are able to request an entire new set for the newly dubbed Alex Vindexi including the legalities involved in moving countries with full confidentiality. It will, however, cost you some gold."

"Done. May I withdraw some gold from my vaults and have a list of any properties I may own nearby? Can I also begin the process of transferring some of my vaults here?" the newly dubbed Alex asked.

Raktooth nodded as he handed Alex four sheets of paper, "Sign these three sheets and what you requested will be done, the last is a list of properties in the immediate area. How much would you like to withdraw from your accounts?"

"Just a handful of Galleons and Sickles to get by for a while." he replied noncommittally whilst signing where required.

"Perhaps you should read this whilst I finalize your documentation," said Raktooth as he handed Alex a handout common among European international clients. He gathered the required documents and walked out of his office to finalise Alex Vindexi's 'legal' arrival on the american continent.

Alex was reading his newest handout for information about the local currency as well as the conversion rate between the two. _'This is much simpler than at home, even the names make more sense.' _he thought as he read through the document. The american continents all used the same currency with the same conversion rates based around the muggle American Dollar. One hundred bronze Aes to a silver Argent and fifty silver Argents for a golden Aurium. All in all, it made a lot more sense than Galleons, Sickles and Knuts.

When Raktooth walked back in he emptied he money pouch of its contents and refilled it with one hundred Auriums. He was also convinced to buy an automatic conversion enchantment in order to convert Auriums into Argents, Aes and even muggle currencies. He was told that once they moved at least one of his vaults he would be able to add a remote withdrawal enchantment. Of course the pouch would then require a suite of security enchantments, but that could be taken care of later.

Once he had gotten his official documentation, which was conveniently stored and accessed directly from his ring, he made it invisible and headed off to the magical departure zones in order to portkey to one of his properties. Apparently he owned a small apartment that had been charmed to be both unplottable and invisible to others somewhere in muggle New York.

"Hidden Hovel - New York" he said whilst pressing his ring and felt a familiar hook on his navel as he was magically dragged through a whirlwind of colour to his hidden abode.

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Tuesday -=- November 7th - 19:20 -=- Hidden Hovel, New York**

Alex collapsed into a heap on a carpeted floor, but unlike his previous adventure by portkey he was still conscious. _'Is it me, or can I just not land properly by portkey anymore? I could've sworn I knew how to do thi-' _his thoughts were cut off as he took in what his 'Hidden Hovel' really was. Hovel being the last thing he would have thought of if he had been asked to name it. It seemed to be an equivalent to an entire floor converted into a single massive suite, at least from his perspective.

He spent the rest of the evening exploring various features of his 'hovel'. Most muggle outlets and appliances had been charmed to never run out of electricity and all his water was conjured by enchanted pipes. He was about to call out to order food when he realised that, even if he told them where he lived, they wouldn't be able to find him due to the many wards.

Eventually, he grudgingly made his way the kitchen to see if he could find anything to cook. Despite having been in charge of 'cooking duty' at Godric's Hol- before, he was never that good at it. That probably had something to do with the fact that he both considered it a chore and never really enjoyed it to begin with.

He was surprised to find that the food that was stored was still fresh, but he really should not have been, given how wizarding enchantments could cover everything from temperature and humidity to a virtually infinite shelf-life due to stasis charms.

In the end he 'cooked' a large sandwich and ate it in front of the TV, distracting himself with some comedic material in order to forget what his life had become. This was the first time he could truly relax since the incident and he was finding that it was a lot harder to deal with than he'd thought and had decided that it was best he just not thought about it - if he could help it.

He eventually fell asleep curled up in the feotal position after he movies couldn't keep the memories at bay. He eyes were stubbornly dry throughout the whole ordeal. As he fell unconscious, his magic and unconscious mind acted up and did what it did best and tried to keep him alive and safe. It started to repress and forge memories in order to keep him driven, determined and emotionally stable.

When he woke up, he would be Alex Vindexi and he would be ready to start his new life.


End file.
